By The Ice
by Rockheart456
Summary: Elsa doesn't know why she was practically forced by Anna to go to a week-long trip with Kristoff especially when Anna had just recently broken up with Kristoff, and Elsa struggles what to think of it all. But, she is curious. As the day comes to a close, she will slowly realize that she is not the only one struggling with something.


**A/N: Frozen is not mine.**

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Ice has always been so natural for Elsa. It had all the grace and beauty as it left the very tips of her fingertips - freezing into almost absolute perfection, forming itself into any object of her imagination. It now only struck her how truly hard it is when it was done solely by hand, with no magic to lend her a helping hand. She had agreed to Kristoff's request for her not to use much of her magic throughout the trip, and to avoid any conflict, she obeyed without any more protest.

They were on some frozen lake in the mountains. Kristoff had suggested the activity, and Elsa, who cannot think of anything else, nodded and acquiesced. Elsa already felt qualms from the very start and she planned to make this trip go by a lot faster. It will save both them the embarrassment. The whole week-long trip could've been good, given a different situation. What makes this different is that Anna was the one who planned it. Further more, she urged Elsa to go somewhere with her ex-suitor.

She had only known of their break-up recently (a mere two days ago, to be exact), but the information she got was enough to deduce that it wasn't an all too mutual break-up. Anna had scarcely showed herself to her, and that was enough to send alarm bells ringing in Elsa's head. Elsa thinks that Kristoff was the one who broke it off. Although she considered him as a friend, she didn't know too much about the ice harvester, but she knew that he was uncomfortable enough when it comes to human contact, and knowing Anna's tendency to seek a lot of human contact, it was a good bet that he might have been overwhelmed with it all.

Still, if that was the case, Elsa couldn't even begin to think what's going on in her sister's mind and why she even urged her to go with Kristoff on a trip like this? He was still her friend, yes, but surely with him being Anna's ex, she should not have approved let alone urge her. It puzzled her as it made her curious.

"Doing okay there, Elsa?" Kristoff said, looking up from his own work of sculpture.

Kristoff's sudden talk had surprised her so much that her muscles tensed immediately; she accidentally put too much pressure on the ice pick, making the arm of her ice man sculpture drop down to the icy floor and shatter into a million tiny pieces. She groaned and tilted her head to the sky; Kristoff could be seen chuckling to the side.

"Not so easy now, isn't it?" Kristoff chuckled once more.

Elsa didn't reply and kept a straight face.

Before Kristoff even said anything, the day was already as awkward as it can get; his speaking up did break some ice, but Elsa wasn't entirely too sure she wanted it to be broken. He had tried to engage in a conversation since their arrival an hour ago, but Elsa didn't really know how to converse with someone who had broken up with her sister. She was already having trouble talking to him when he and her sister were dating; he might still be her friend, but the current situation made it different.

They had worked themselves until the sun turned orange; the sky was already taking up a shade of violet as a crescent moon faded in a bit. Their shadows were streaked in the ground like dark cut-out carpets as they finished their mini-projects for the day.

"You could always just make another sculpture, you know," Kristoff said, going back to his work. "Maybe an animal of some sort?"

Elsa thought of her answer for a moment before shaking her head in a negative.

Kristoff looked on a bit longer, expecting a follow-up answer, and when he didn't get any, he sighed. Elsa was frustrated. This was ridiculous; he was still her friend for goodness sake. She doesn't have to be so darn hard to get along with. They were in it for a week, and here he is trying. As for herself, she doesn't even know what she's doing. Her nerves were getting to her, and her mouth didn't seem to want to cooperate.

She can't help it though. How was she suppose to react? Be all smiley? Continue to talk like nothing happened? She didn't know what counted as a proper talk during this time. It was during these moments that Elsa wished she had her sister's knack to converse; she always knew how to end silence.

Kristoff tried another topic. "So, have you been getting enough breaks these days?"

Elsa pushed all her qualms deep down. She thought that it was a safe enough topic. She sighed and answered that she wasn't. He asked why not to which she answered, "Don't get me wrong, Kristoff, I like a break every once in a while, but it's absolutely wrong for a queen to take long breaks without thinking about her duty when the kingdom demands so much."

"Well, working for your kingdom is surely the way to go if you want to be a great queen, but a great queen also knows if she is pushing herself too much." Kristoff paused for a moment. "Like realizing that she isn't getting much sleep."

"I am getting enough of sleep, Kristoff," Elsa said.

Kristoff looked at her for a moment before shaking his head and muttering a negative, earning a glare from Elsa.

"I **do** get enough sleep." Elsa replied. Okay, maybe that was a little lie. She had eye bags to prove it. It was one of the reason Anna gave as to why she should go on this awkward trip, but he didn't need to know that. Part of the the reason was work. Partly.

"Sleep, yeah. Enough? I don't think so." Kristoff said.

"It is enough. I can read through entire reports the whole day; if that's not what enough sleep brings, I don't know what does."

Kristoff scoffed at the reply. "Elsa, You once told me that you spent one whole day catching up with sleep. I even saw you one time slumped in your desk with a bunch of papers in one hand."

Elsa blushed at the information. "That was only one time."

"How 'bout the time you straight up slept while I was talking about my report?"

Elsa huffed. "I didn't straight up sleep."

Kristoff smirked. Elsa hoped to wipe that silly grin of his. She was getting embarrassed and a little vexed now.

"Point is, you need this vacation even if you think you don't need it. Anna said so."

"Funny why you still listen to her." Elsa said, a bit too coldly.

Kristoff looked taken aback by that; he shut his mouth. Elsa cursed inwardly.

Nothing was said between the two for a good two minutes. Elsa mentally scolded herself. That was an insensitive comment. Her sister and he had just broken it off a few days ago. He really didn't deserve the cold comment, but the stress of the entire previous hour had left her a little bit more unguarded than she normally is, making her irritated and impudent a lot faster. He was only trying to lighten the mood, and she admits what she said was a little overboard.

"Sorry. That was insensitive of me." Elsa said quietly.

Kristoff just nodded - Elsa noticed that he did it much stiffly - and continued to work. She didn't have anything more to say, so she followed suit and minded her work. The sculpture's face - it didn't even look like a face anymore, just a spherical shape - seemed to be mocking her, but she still continued.

Elsa had but little information as to what transpired between the two the previous week that led to their eventual separation. Although she hardly knew anything they did, Elsa admits she didn't see it coming. After the coronation disaster a few months before, Anna has been so excited to announce her getting together with the ice harvester. Elsa objected at first, Hans still fresh on her mind, but Anna seemed so resolved, so she let it go.

For the following weeks, she hadn't any doubts as to whether Anna was happy with the new relationship. All she had to do was look at her smiling face intently at the end of the day to see her thoughts on the matter. That's why it was so confusing for her that they abruptly ended their relationship.

She had itched to know more about the subject, but she couldn't find the right time to ask, also reasoning that it was really none of her business; besides, she had work to do at that time.

Sparing a glance at him, she saw that he had fully thrown himself in his work, but she could see that his previous smile was replaced by that of a frown; his eyebrows were contracted. She felt the air get thicker.

Unable to handle any more, she opted to start again.

"Hey, Kristoff?" Elsa said softly.

He directed his eyes at her and waited.

"I'm really sorry."

He turned back at his work, and Elsa thought that her apology fell on deaf ears when he suddenly exhaled loudly.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have brought it up. You do what you like, Your Majesty."

Elsa's lips thinned. He knew that they had an agreement that whenever they are alone, all sorts of formality should melt; after all, they were friends and there was no such thing as hierarchy between them.

"Kristoff, please," Elsa practically begged at him. "What else should I say?"

Kristoff looked at her for a moment; on those moments, Elsa saw that his eyes had a flash of disdain before it disappeared as he went back to his work again. "Nothing."

Elsa felt real bad. If she was going to be staying here for a week (Anna insisted), an angry Kristoff was certainly not one she could manage. Instead of being relaxed, she would be stuck being stiff from all the dodging she would have to do. In a desperate way to diffuse the entire thing, Elsa stopped working and faced him.

"Listen, I know that what I said crossed the line." She had risen her voice, but she didn't notice it. "I should've been more sensitive regarding the subject; despite my not knowing the particulars of the matter, I shouldn't have tried touching it altogether."

Kristoff looked at her with mild surprise; Elsa faced down and didn't meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Elsa didn't know if Kristoff was looking or even listening to her, but she still didn't look up. She fiddled with her fingers.

"It's alright, I guess." Kristoff sighed and his shoulders drooped; Elsa looked up. "I'm sorry myself. Shouldn't have acted that way. I deserve it anyway. Shouldn't have pushed you too much." Kristoff offered a hint of a smile which Elsa caught. She responded with a nod.

Darn. Why was talking so hard? She's grateful that Kristoff was the kind of guy that didn't hold a grudge. Otherwise, she doesn't know what else she has to do.

"So," Kristoff said, a little meekly. "You don't know the particulars, eh? You mean, Anna never told you?"

Elsa scrunched her brow in confusion. "No, she didn't."

"Huh," Kristoff said. "I just assumed that she told you. You know, you and her being sisters and all."

Another silence. By now, the sun had set, and the sky began to show some twinkling stars; the moon has taken on a more visible light. A soft wind picked up around them, rustling the leaves of the nearby trees.

"You weren't the only one not looking forward to this trip, you know that?" Kristoff asked.

Elsa almost said that she suspected about it, but after thinking about it, she opted to keep her mouth shut.

She waited for more, but Kristoff seemed to realize what he was about to say, and upon realizing the fact, he clammed up and focused once more on his work. Elsa felt that itch and urge to ask him again. She was troubled by it, and she was looking for something to satisfy her thoughts and queries; So finally, she urged him to tell her, promising that it will never reach Anna's ears. After a bit of persuasion, he finally gave in.

"We were going through a very rough patch. I was going to the mountains so often that she was complaining how she rarely got to see me. It's not like I don't like spending time with her, I do! but my job was keeping me from it, you know? One day, when I returned home, I swung by the castle to greet her, and I saw that she was talking to this other gentleman. Not that I had anything to suspect at first, but over the next few days, I began to see more of him; Anna's complaints began to stop."

Kristoff was staring at his sculpture; his hands were fixed on its side like he was dancing with it. Elsa's sculpture was left alone as well, her attention solely on his telling the story. After a brief while, he continued,

"The week after that, it finally happened. She confessed and I...didn't take it well." Kristoff's voice faded and he drew in a breath. She noticed that his eyes looked watery under the moonlit sky; she felt awfully sorry for him.

Kristoff laughed but Elsa could sense the bitterness behind it, the pain and sadness and longing. "You know the rest of it yourself. She told me that she was sorry, but I couldn't say anything, you know. She suggested a trip to forget all about it; I agreed. What I didn't know was that you would be joining me; I just knew it today, in fact. If I would guess, she needs time alone with..." He cleared his throat. "Now you know why she was so eager for you to join this trip." Another laugh, equally bitter and sad.

She saw one tear betray him and slip to the ground. He rubbed his eyes furiously and looked away from her. He dropped his ice pick and sat down in the ice. He was still laughing, albeit it was close to crying now; she went to him and sat down beside him, not knowing what to do.

She thought for awhile before saying, "You know the real reason why I haven't been sleeping too much?"

That got his attention. He ceased laughing and glanced at her.

"She has been down the past week, you know that? The only times I saw her was when she was in her room, frowning and staring blankly at a wall. Of course, being Anna, she would always hide that frown away and immediately smile when she saw me."

She chuckled softly; Kristoff didn't say anything. Elsa thought of the times Anna just disappeared. On the times when she would usually bug Elsa, she would strangely be absent. It took Elsa a whole week before knowing she was spending much of her time enclosed in a room, away from usual contact.

Elsa didn't realize she paused for quite some time, and Kristoff spoke up, "You don't have to share it, Els. It's okay, I get it."

"No, no, I want to continue. You have to understand too," Elsa answered, giving him a small smile. Kristoff saw it and nodded.

"I was beyond worry for her. That time really bothered me. You know Anna, she doesn't usually spend all those time of hers alone. And well..."

Elsa cleared her throat and rubbed her elbows, making Kristoff raise his eyebrow.

"I spent all those nights worrying myself to sleep, thinking what was happening to her. Then, I learned that you guys broke up and all, and I made the connection that you somehow got to do with it, that maybe you were the one that did that to her. That's why I'm so against this 'time-out' in the first place. Honestly, I didn't want anything to do with you."

Silence. The wind blew against them again. Elsa realized what she said and tried to correct it, but Kristoff spoke first.

"Same. Too soon and all." Kristoff gave her another smile, and Elsa relaxed.

It was too soon. Elsa knew that, but she was thankful that Kristoff understood it. Not every rejected guy can do that especially after the break-up was only days before. However, she does feel sorry for him, and she felt a little bad for distancing herself awhile ago. It was almost as bad as Anna rejecting him. She and he might not have looked forward to this "break", but he was still a friend, and she was suppose to act like one.

"I want to be clear that I don't feel that way anymore." Elsa said. "From what you said awhile ago, I was really off the mark in what to feel; I shouldn't have felt that way towards you and I'm sorry."

She looked him in the eye and saw that he was looking at his own feet. Elsa felt her chest get heavier. Here was a man that was already broken down by her sister, unknowingly, and she went into this twisting the knife in his wound. To be that way to him the entire day, to add her being so insensitive. To think of it now made her want to run for the nearby woods and hide.

He laughed, making her raise her head in confusion.

"That's the thousandth time you said sorry for the day." Kristoff said. "Do you do it alot?" There was now general good humor in his voice, all traces of sadness gone - at least for the moment. It made Elsa chuckle herself.

"Only if I have to."

Both of them shared a chuckle there, in the middle of the frozen lake. By now the moon had risen to its full height, bathing the whole surroundings with its white light, showing the surroundings to be as serene as they can be.

"Have you talked to her about it?" Elsa asked. She couldn't resist asking the question; it was the first thing that popped on her mind. "I mean fully talk about it."

Kristoff, after giving it thought, timidly shook his head and didn't talk any more. Elsa gave a sympathetic nod.

"I don't really want to mess anything up right now," Kristoff said. "I mean, she seems so happy with the guy. As much as I want to-" He paused and sighed. "I think it's best if I leave it be. She doesn't need my bothering her."

Elsa didn't really like Kristoff's decision. She wanted at least to have them be good friends. They were the only people that she connected with, and she didn't really want to see them feel all tense and awkward around each other. She wanted the time spent with them like the few other times she got together with them. She then realized how really cooped up she was. If she were to try and recall all the times she spent time with them, she could only count them in one hand. Now, she might not even have the opportunity to do that anymore.

"Why don't you try talking to her?" Elsa said. "She'll understand."

"I really doubt that, Elsa. She could be pretty oblivious to everything other than the object of her eye."

"But-" Elsa stopped. It was true. Anna had a one track mind, and if anything happened that didn't concern her at all, she would miss it completely.

"Kristoff," Elsa continued. "She cares about you. I know she does. She'll listen."

"She might care, Elsa," Kristoff said. "But, not that much as you think. It's best if I just let her be with the guy. It will be no hassle at all. For her and for me."

"But it is hassle for her, Kristoff," Elsa countered. "She locked herself in her room and barely left it. She's torn; I know that. She's my sister. She needs to have some sort of closure. She might've moved on to someone else, based from what you said, but she still cares about you. I know she does. Not in the way you you want, maybe, but you have to know that she still does.

Elsa didn't say anything more. Kristoff was looking at the ice below him with a bittersweet smile, his eyes blank and glazed, as if it's in a distant land. She saw this all, and she sympathized with him. Poor Kristoff.

Snapping out of his reverie, Kristoff looked up and stared at their sculptures.

"I don't know, Elsa," Kristoff said.

Elsa was disappointed, but she let it be for now. He shifted his gaze to her and began to gesture timidly towards the sculptures. Elsa was confused, but she followed anyway, standing up and going back to her sculpture.

Kristoff picked up his ice pick and began once more, this time, he was doing it more hurriedly. Not a thing was said between them for awhile, only the sound of the ice pick cut through the air.

"You still haven't told me why you agreed to this 'time-out', Els." Kristoff said, changing the topic. "If you didn't do it for my company, what did?"

"You know how persuasive Anna can be." Elsa answered. "And, I wanted to get away from work for a while."

Kristoff chuckled. "You wanted it? What have you done with Elsa?"

Elsa chuckled too. "Oh fine. Anna wanted me to. Mainly because of the sleep business, and I can't say no. I didn't want to argue, so here I am."

"You insisted a moment ago that you did get enough sleep."

"And I do. But, I'll try and relax more, even if it is here.

Kristoff still looked like he didn't believe her, but he nodded. As they settled into silence, he opened his mouth to say something, hesitated and closed it again.

"What?" Elsa asked.

"And, are you happy with that? Resting in this place with me?"

Elsa stared at him. His gaze was serious.

"Certainly." Elsa nodded. She meant it. They might have had a rocky start, but it is getting better. She knows it as much as she can sense it. The stiffness earlier was gone. To add to that, the environment here was soothing as it is beautiful. Under the starry sky, the entire frozen lake seemed to radiate beauty.

Kristoff's gaze softened. He raised his eyebrow at her and said, "And, you're still gonna go with a week of no magic ice?"

"Hmm," Elsa made a thinking gesture. She grinned. "I don't think I can. Maybe you'll find a little on your whole floor in your room when you leave in the morning for trying to stop me from using my ice magic.."

"Monster." Kristoff said jokingly.

"Hey!" Elsa gave him a mock glare; Kristoff merely chuckled. "You're talking to the wrong person..."

Elsa, with a flick of her wrist, produced something that looked suspiciously like the gentleman Anna was hanging out with. Kristoff blinked his eyes fast and turned towards his sculpture, then after a brief moment began to laugh uncontrollably.

Elsa laughed too and willed the ice to disappear. She and Kristoff looked at each other and another fresh batch of laughter erupted. She laughed so much that her sides ached and she needed to lean against her sculpture to keep from collapsing. He, meanwhile, was hugging himself as he laughed and laughed.

"So, now that the ice is broken." Kristoff said. Another laughter from both of them. "Answer me honestly: you finally gonna get some much needed sleep? Not just your definition of rest, but really sleep." Kristoff asked.

She sighed. "Maybe. I still got some work to do and think about being the queen." Elsa deemed her project of the Ice Person sculpture to be a disaster, so she opted to see Kristoff's and approached him.

"Well, don't push yourself too much. Anna was still right about that." Kristoff said.

Elsa glanced up for a moment, seemingly to think about it before nodding, "Tell you what, talk to my sister and settle this properly and I'll think about it."

Kristoff copied her, glancing up himself, before answering, "Not good enough. If I talk to her, you have to sleep yourself."

"Why do you care so much if I sleep or not?" Elsa asked him playfully.

"I don't." Kristoff said hurriedly. Elsa saw his cheeks color a bit, but she dismissed it. "But you should really care for yourself. A tired queen means a weary kingdom. Relax, sleep, enjoy."

"Well then, Kristoff, will you help me to relax, sleep and enjoy then?" Elsa asked him. She tilted her head and looked at his eyes.

"Course, I will." Kristoff answered, looking back at her.

Elsa smiled at this. "Alright, Kristoff. You have a deal."

They shook hands with each other, smiling all the while and standing side by side near Kristoff's ice sculpture. She was finally able to look at the ice sculpture that Kristoff was doing. It was a magnificent ice replica of the castle in Arendelle, complete with all the minute details. The windows were all in their right places, the gates and doors were in their rightful hinges. It was a beauty that even Elsa admits can rival one of her best creations.

The night had fully descended upon them, but the mini ice castle stood proudly on the frozen lake, glistening under the beautiful moon light, giving the night more splendor to enjoy. As snow began to fall around them and they began walking back towards the nearby cabin, chatting in more friendly terms, the mighty ice castle shined and glimmered under the starry night sky.

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 **A/N: Thank you to all of you who took time to read this story. Leave a review if you can please.**

 **-Rockheart456**


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